Reviews by Simon Milburn

Watchtower is a band that I discovered waaaaaaay back in the day when Rage playing metal clips of any description was a rarity. It wasn’t a monthly thing or anything like that. It was a once in a blue moon thing and there was no internet or ...

I like that Obituary are still going after all these years. Sure they enjoyed the usual hiatus there for a few years - seven in fact, but when they returned with 2005’s Frozen in Time, it was clear the band never missed a beat. Trut...

Speed metal is one of those genres that sit in between two other major genres. For example, deathcore sits smack bang in the middle of death metal and hardcore. Speed metal to me sits in the middle of thrash metal and traditional metal. Whilst the...

Many will say that I’m jaded, old, disconnected from “today’s metal” and a hater. To their credit, there’s some truth in some or all of those things. I’ll leave it for you to figure out. The simple fact is that ...

This year has already seen a mountain of albums hit the shelves of your favourite store, be it a bricks and mortar store or one of the many digital options. I think it’s fair to say that one of the most anticipated albums of 2016 is You ...

With Relapse records wrapping up their series of deluxe “everything including the kitchen sink” multi-CD and LP Death reissues this month, it seems only fitting that Gruesome also return with a new EP to boot. Titled Dimensions of ...

There’s no doubt that Six Feet Under have an audience. It might not be a large audience but in this age where genres are so splintered and no one particular style dominates metal or in fact defines metal these days, it must be said that Six ...

To most people, Canada means snow, ice hockey, maple leaves, mounties, Nickelback, Alanis Morrisette, and Bryan Adams. To metal heads, all bar the last three items in that list hold true. In addition to that, Canada also means Annihilator, Gorguts...

I’m never really sure what to make of bands that share their name with a song from another, usually older, metal band. In some cases, things work out OK to varying degrees of success. Just for a minute think about the likes of Deep Purple, O...

To be fair, Death is one of those bands who need no introduction. There’s nothing I can add that will elaborate on their diverse and highly regarded discography nor enhance the legacy left by mastermind Chuck Schuldiner. But, here I am, and ...

Hiatus. Ugh. That word… again!! Man, if that ain’t a word that’s thrown around by bands like a hot potato these days, I don’t know what is. A band comes along and releases a series of albums. Suddenly, a “hiatus&rdqu...

Well, it goes without saying that Divebomb would complete the mission with respect to Apocalypse reissues and they did just that. The Swiss group’s 1993 sophomore and final album, Faithless, has also been given the limited edition a...

October Tide is, for many, probably a band that would go unnoticed. Formed by Katatonia alumi Fredrik Norrman and Jonas Renske in 1994, the band released their first two long players in Rain Without End (1997) and Grey Dawn (1999...

Taking a step back in time, compilation albums actually meant something. These days, in an era of ‘buy one track here, one track there, and rarely the whole album’, they really offer little value and even then they are nothing more tha...

I’m sure many of you remember the “New Wave of American Heavy Metal” trend. There was a plethora of bands pushing that barrow including Lamb of God, Unearth, Shadows Fall and of course, Killswitch Engage. Now, it’s probably...

I’m old enough to remember when “stoner rock” was a new thing. I’m talking about being there when Kyuss released album after amazing album and being lucky enough to see them in concert support Metallica on their 1993 &ldquo...

Whilst some acts such as Metallica feel the need to take their time when it comes to writing and releasing albums these days, others such as Revocation and Prong churn them out in almost rapid fire succession. The native New Yorkers, since 2012, h...

I must admit I’ve been sitting on this album for some time now. For All Kings, studio album number eleven for this long standing New York (U.S.A.) metal act, honestly didn’t sit well with me for the first little while. Of cour...

It’s funny that Megadeth are still one of those bands that I get excited about when I know there is a new release on the horizon. The rest of the big four as well as any of the other significant others of that ilk bring the same. You k...

It’s almost surreal to contemplate that Canada’s Voivod have been going at it - in various forms of course - for well over thirty years. They are one of the few acts not only with that kind of longevity but also who have really managed...